Is Jabi Boat Club’s beef burger the best in Abuja?
After a while hearing positive word-of-mouth about the food at the Jabi Boat Club, what always jumped at me was a recurring sentence. “They’ve got the best burger in Abuja,” a number of my friends would declare, using the same exact words. Now, being a self-confessed burger connoisseur, I had to go and see for […]
After a while hearing positive word-of-mouth about the food at the Jabi Boat Club, what always jumped at me was a recurring sentence. “They’ve got the best burger in Abuja,” a number of my friends would declare, using the same exact words. Now, being a self-confessed burger connoisseur, I had to go and see for myself. And I did, several times so I would be sure, and not basing my opinion on a fluke, good or bad.
The first few times, I went at night, and it had a decent-sized pack of customers, mostly eating, with a few done and ready to go. The music, I noticed, tended towards mid-to-late 80s R&B fare, which is arguably the best period for the genre. Then on the night of Nigeria’s final World Cup match, I also went over for food and TV, with friends who mostly had grilled chicken and fries, while I stuck to my culprit: the beef burger.
The next day, at lunchtime, I headed to the Jabi Boat Club, adorning a prime side of the Jabi Lake, for a last stab at the beef burger before judgement. As soon as I was seated, a waiter took my order. This time, I skipped French fries, and opted for the sweet potato chips, with chilli sauce. While I waited, I took in the lakeside view, which quite honestly, is unlike no other in the city. In fact, I soon forgot the mild inconvenience of having to access the restaurant by going behind a newly-renovated Nera Hotel.
Exactly 17 minutes after, my order came and I dug in. The first thing I noticed, of course, is the bun: Obviously self-baked, and just the right texture to house a patty without the sticky nature of many burger buns.
The vegetables were deceptively simple: Tomato slices, lettuce, and cucumber. Deceptively simple, because they proved to be perfect accompaniments for the burger itself. Again, quite obviously made on the premises, it had juicy beef, grilled to perfection and without a single crunchy bit. There was one thing missing though, onion rings. Or did I just not notice any because I was lost in my reverie?
The meat had an ever-so-slight tang of garlic in it, with some herbs, which went perfectly well with the mayonnaise. The cheese, too, somehow magically maintains consistency, from start to finish, and without any aftertaste. Obviously, it is high-quality cheese.
Now, I confess to adulterating the taste midway, by adding the “chilli sauce” to it just for kicks. I put quote marks because it’s more of what we Nigerians call ‘stew’ than actual chilli sauce. But the good news? It worked, even if I wouldn’t try that ever again. The burger itself is far too much of a masterpiece to be treated that way. I washed it down with water, some ice, and a large lemon wedge squeezed in for zest.
A larger part of the restaurant’s menu remains unexplored, and for another day.
Final verdict: From the first bite, down to the sesame seeds scattered on the bun, to the very last morsel, if there ever was a contender for ‘Best Beef Burger in Abuja’, the Jabi Boat Club’s is it. If I sound a bit inconclusive, it’s probably because I feel I need to give it another try, or ten, to be very sure. Just for the lakeside view, I assure you.